Hollywood Revue (of 1929)

US (1929): Musical

This was the first movie of its kind, similar to the stage extravaganzas of Florenz Ziegfeld and George White: An all-star revue featuring MGM contract players Conrad Nagel, Jack Benny, John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Bessie Love, Laurel & Hardy, Anita Page, Buster Keaton, Marie Dressler and others.

In a sequence filmed in Technicolor^©, John Gilbert and Norma Shearer offer a "slang" version of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, with Lionel Barrymore acting as their director. This is one of the films cited as contributing to the collapse of John Gilbert's career after audiences heard his high-pitching speaking voice. Apparently, Gilbert's performance inspired the "talkie disaster" sequence in 1952's Singin' in the Rain.

Two other segments also are in color: the "Singin' in the Rain" finale and a "Technicolor Ballet." During the latter number, some theaters arranged for the smell of orange blossoms to waft through the audience. Choreographer Sammy Lee, anticipating the work of Busby Berkeley by a few years, created dance routines for the film that were devised to be photographed from overhead.

 View a clip of the two-strip Technicolor^© "Singin' in the Rain" finale from this film on YouTube.com.

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